A four-year-old Edmonton boy's paintings of monsters are raising cash for a young girl battling a much scarier beast — cancer.

When Julie Rohr heard that her friend Amber MacNeil's three-year-old daughter Kyla was diagnosed with leukemia, she knew she had to do something.

She decided to use her son Max's passion for drawing into a way to raise funds for Kyla and her family, and started the Papercastle Art Collective.

"It tugs at your heart strings. I think every parent understands that fear and those emotions," she said.

"When we heard about Kyla's diagnosis we started talking about cancer and what it's like. It's very similar to a monster, it's very scary."

Kyla's diagnosis is just the latest blow for the family, Rohr adds. Mom Amber had finished treatment for a brain tumour just days before receiving news of her daughter's leukemia.

"We were all so happy to hear that her treatment had finished, that she appeared to be over the worst of it," she said.

"And then comes Kyla's diagnosis. Can you imagine how that family is coping? When I heard I couldn't not help."

Some drawings are of cute monsters, some of angry, scary ones. The original 50 masterpieces have already sold out, and Rohr says she's started to sell prints now so that the young artist doesn't have to attempt to keep up with demand.

Kyla's sister Kinley has also drawn up a handful of pieces, and Rohr says those should be available on the website shortly.

The drive was started Thursday and has already raised over $2,200.

Half of the proceeds will go towards the family, and the other half will benefit to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada.

The paintings come at the cost of a suggested donation, $10 for "monster magnets", $20 for "monster prints" and $35 for "monster canvas" pieces.

Rhor says they've received plenty of donations that go "above and beyond" the suggested amount.

Back to four-year-old Max, the budding artist. His mom says he has some idea of the seriousness of little Kyla's diagnosis, as his grandpa lost a battle with melanoma not long ago.